


Lotus Roots

by enkaychi



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mpreg, Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:59:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1165027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enkaychi/pseuds/enkaychi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the twenty-first century and the royal family is an extension of a democratically elected government but that does not mean the Crown Prince can marry whomever he chooses. In a world with a rapidly changing social landscape, Jung Yunho's marriage is used as an instrument to force social reform and Kim Jaejoong finds out that for someone like him a rise in status comes with great danger and intrigue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Male Omegas in this universe: In this universe there haven't always been alphas and omegas. They started showing up around the 1920s in response to a certain event in 1918 where approx. 5% of the world's population died. Handwavy psuedoscience is handwavy. (BTW it was the influenza pandemic for the non history/biology/medicine buffs). This means homophobia still developed pretty much as normal until then. Male omegas have it rougher than female alphas just because.
> 
> By the 21st century most countries fall into one of three groups regarding male omegas: 1) They're completely accepted. No one cares if you marry/bond with an omega/beta/alpha, male or female. It's all good. 2) They're conditionally accepted. It's okay if a male omega marries/bonds with a female alpha/beta. 3) They are not accepted at all.
> 
> South Korea falls somewhere in the realm of options 2 and 3 with the nobles leaning towards option 3. But social equality movements being what they are (except much more advanced than the real world), option 1 is much more popular on the world stage these days. It is not okay to be the country still sitting around in options 2 and 3 when it comes to dealing with certain foreign powers.

There were days President Park Geunhye loved her job. Today was not one of those days. She would not have one of those days for several months to come.

“Why does this need to be done? Have we not been tolerant?”

Geunhye wanted to sigh but she held the breath inside her chest. It would not do to show exasperation towards the Queen Dowager, it might be misconstrued as disrespect. She had not wanted to be the person to deliver this news. Although the royal family had little official power in the government of South Korea, there was not much that occurred in the political sphere without the approval of the Queen Consort or the Queen Dowager.

While the people of Korea differed greatly in opinion on the subject of the King, as evidenced by his absence from this particular meeting, they were largely united in their opinions of Queen Dowager Sookyung and her daughter by marriage, Queen Consort Jiyeon. Both women were loved by their people and respected for their knowledge on policy matters. Geunhye had seen the careers of the most anonymous provincial representatives soar with a word of approval and the careers of the most celebrated ministers shatter with a word of disapproval from either woman. Officially, the royal family had no position on the political affairs of their country. The reality was quite different.

It was no wonder she had not wanted to have this conversation but Ministers Yoon, Yoo, Cho, and Hyun had all agreed this would be best received coming from her. She had known the Queen Dowager for most her life, since her own father had been President.

“Daebi mama, it is no longer enough to be tolerant. In the aftermath of recent... events, we must be accepting.” Would acceptance even be enough to resolve the issue after what His Majesty had done? She revised her statement. “Neigh, we must be welcoming. The world has changed rapidly and we must change with it or we will become obsolete.”

These words were perhaps not the best choice to use on women whose ancestors had controlled an empire under an absolute rule but who themselves were viewed by a large part of the world as little more than celebrities with distinguished social status.

“Is there nothing else that can be done?” Queen Jiyeon asked, her face tight with worry.

The question was not the refusal of a monarch who refused to consider change but the concern of a mother worried for her only son. Geunhye softened her tone. “Mama,” she answered gently, “There are many other things that can be done but I have not come to you with this decision lightly. We have considered many options. This is the _best_ thing that can be done.”

The two woman did not look convinced. “Daebi mama, it was you who told me once that though this family no longer had the power to force change, it was still your duty to stand as an example for the people to follow, as agents of change. That example has become cracked. It must be repaired.” As she watched Queen Sookyung incline her head forwards in acknowledgment she was certain that was the best thing she could have said.

When she was dismissed both women still looked uneasy. The coming months would not be pleasant for any of the residents of the royal palace, least of all the King when his mother and wife decided to go through with this plan, for she had no doubt they would, or the Crown Prince when he returned from military service. However, as far as Geunhye was concerned, His Majesty had no right to an opinion in this matter as it was his actions that had brought them to this point. As for the Crown prince, he was one of the most reasonable and dutiful young men she had ever had the privilege of knowing. He would accept this.

With time.

-

The two women sat in silence for some time after President Park's departure, each lost heavily in their thoughts, occasionally taking sips of tea from the ornate porcelain cups at the center table.

“Eomeoni,” Jiyeon said when she felt the silence had become too oppressive. “We can't let this happen.”

“Hush,” Sookyung said with a sigh.

“Yunho isn't even-”

“Hush,” came the interruption again. Sookyung did not want to hear what Yunho wasn't. She knew her grandson better than his mother did and she had certainly always been closer to him than either of his parents had been. She knew very well what he wasn't and knew even better what he would be able to tolerate despite this fact.

No, not tolerate. Accept. Geunhye had been correct on that matter. They must now be accepting.

“Eomeoni,” Jiyeon tried again. “His Majesty will never allow-”

Sookyung raised her hand sharply. “I said hush girl. Your husband has no say in this matter.”

Jiyeon breathed a sharp intake of air. 'Your husband.' Not 'the King', not 'His Majesty', not even 'my son'. 'Your husband.' Her mother in law was more upset than she had let show over the past few days. It was an extreme disassociation for a woman to whom family had always been first priority. At this moment, the King was not the child her mother had brought into the world or even the father of her grandchildren. He was the man who had married the mother of her grandchildren, nothing more, nothing worthy enough to have a considered opinion.

And though Jiyeon did not realize it yet, she would not have much say in this matter either if she would not silence her protestations. It was a good idea, not even an unconventional idea. Royal families had done this for millenia, this would just be another variation of the same. Sookyung would find someone, with or without Jiyeon's support.

She would find someone before Yunho returned from military service and hopefully before Jihye, Changmin, or one of her other grandchildren could warn him. It would be more difficult for him to fight against a person than an idea. Ideas were simple. People were not.

-

So it was, that Yunho, Royal Prince Successor of Korea, became the first modern royal to bond with a male omega. When Kim Jaejoong, ninth child of a lesser noble house, married into the royal family it was decided, amidst much debate and protest, that he would be granted the title of a son of the king and his queen consort, _daegun_ , and the style used for consorts of the royal house, _mama_.


	2. Chapter 1

Kang Joo-ah did her best not to let her nervousness show as she waited to be granted entrance to the personal rooms of Queen Dowager Sookyung. She noticed her assistant trembling at her side and pursed her lips in annoyance. She reached over and pinched him in admonishment. He stilled. She let her facial features relax into a neutral expression and gently patted his back before dropping the hand.

She had brought Minjae with her because of all the omegas she had working for her he was the least likely faint in front of the Queen Dowager. She only hoped that no one would be offended by his presence, though if they were they would certainly not let it show.

Kang Joo-ah was a matchmaker of the new breed, the type that had become necessary in the wake of the Change when it was clear that the new genetic profile of humankind was here to stay. If gender had never become more complicated than male or female then the business of love, or marriage as the case usually was, would probably have progressed onto a more natural path, one in which a matchmaker was more a facilitator for people of shared interests to meet each other. Not that such facilitators didn't exist, they did.

The advent of Anestra, the heat suppressant drug manufactured by Massive Dynamic, had for the last two decades allowed young people more control over the direction of their lives. No longer slaves to their biology, people had more freedom to choose their life partners. But there were still those parents who would not put the fate of their line in the hands of flighty children. Joo-ah was in complete sympathy with these parents. Her own daughter caused her and her husband no end of grief. However, it was not these sympathies that brought her to the royal palace.

Joo-ah was a specialized type of matchmaker, one whose value lay in her not only her skill but in her sense of discretion. 'Matchmaker to the deviant rich and famous,' her son called it. Joo-ah had smacked the boy for such comments on more than one occasion. There was nothing deviant about it. The negative associations their culture had with the word homosexual should have died sometime in the 1950s. What deviancy was there in a man involving himself in a relationship with another man when that man could give him children? What shame? But ideas were difficult to change and people even harder.

Today, Joo-ah had hope that change would be coming sooner than she had come to reasonably expect. She was not a stupid woman. When she had been summoned to her first meeting with the Queen Dowager she knew the winds of change had become more than a light breeze carrying only enough strength to rustle a few leaves. No, she had the feeling that that breeze was well on it's way to becoming a lightning storm. She welcomed it.

The doors to the Queen Dowager's chambers opened. Joo-ah was once again stunned by the lavishness of the rooms and by the women seated at the sofas around a table in the center of the room. Both were stunning, hair neatly pinned at their necks, wearing the hanbok declaring them members of the royal house, hands neatly folded under the cloth.

Joo-ah raised her hands to here eyes, palms facing the ground and bowed her head forward. She slowly lowered herself into a cross-legged seating position and bent forward at the waist. She held the position for a few seconds before straightening then pulled one leg up to push herself back into a standing position. She lowered her hands and watched Minjae unhesitatingly repeat the motion. The days when a man like him could find it insulting to be expected to perform such a bow were long past.

Joo-ah bent forward inclining her head first to the Queen Dowager. “Daebi mama,” she said, then to the Queen Consort. “Mama.”

“Sit, sit,” said the Queen Dowager, gesturing Joo-ah and Minjae towards the couch opposite her. “Show me.”

Joo-ah smiled. This never failed to amuse her. Despite the older woman's fairly stern appearance in public, the Queen Dowager was not one to stand on ceremony beyond the simple courtesies her position demanded she be shown. Joo-ah took a black portfolio from Minjae. She opened it and began removing six files.

As she placed each one on the table, photographs clipped to the front covers, she considered the response each one was likely to receive. There was nothing really wrong with any of the candidates, she had chosen each one carefully, but there were three she expected would be eliminated immediately. Nevertheless, they had the proper qualifications so protocol demanded she include them. She handed the portfolio back to Minjae when they were all removed.

The Queen Consort shifted forward on the couch and leaned to pick up one of the files. Joo-ah suppressed a small quirk of her lips. She had her her favorite. He was it.

The Queen Dowager simply pointed to the photographs of the first and last candidate. “No,” she said, “and no.” Joo-ah was not surprised, Queen Sookyung probably knew more about these boys than she did. Minjae picked up both files and placed them back in the portfolio.

Kim Heechul and Lee Taemin. Too old and too young, Joo-ah filled in mentally.

The Queen Dowager pointed to another file. “No,” she said. This file was also removed from the table.

Park Yoochun. Too radical. The boy had been educated overseas and by all accounts had picked up notions that were too... liberal for the royal family's needs. They were trying to push reform, not start a revolution. Joo-ah welcomed the storm but there was a difference between thunder and lightning and a hurricane.

That left three candidates. Kim Kibum, Kim Jaejoong, and Kim Ryeowook.

“These three we will consider,” said the Queen Dowager. “You may go.”

It was the shortest meeting she had had with them to date but it was not unexpected. All of the details about requirements for background, education, and temperament had already been discussed. All that had been left for Joo-ah to do was present the candidates. She and Minjae rose and bowed again before exiting the room.

A storm indeed, she thought as they were escorted out.

-

For a week the major news stations of South Korea reported on the news of the King's sudden illness. In His Majesty's absence, the ceremonial duties and responsibilities of the crown were shared by his only daughter, Princess Jihye, and his nephew, Prince Changmin.

No one actually believed His Majesty was ill.

-

The New Order of Succession, allowing female alpha children to be designated heir to the throne, meant that Prince Changmin was fifth in line to the throne. In addition to the death of the current king, his cousins, Yunho, Jihye, and Jihoon, and his own mother would need to die before he could become king. This was just as well, as Changmin had no desire to be king. Yunho could have that role. In the unlikely event where he did end up first in line, he would simply abdicate and leave that burden to his eldest younger sister, Sooyeon.

It was a mentality that drove Sookyung to no end of insanity because it meant that during the King's current 'illness' and absence from public appearance Changmin was most unwilling to take up his new responsibilities. Sookyung would probably have to resort to bribery and extortion to coax the boy's agreement. It was bad enough that she had had to going to find him in his own rooms because he refused to answer her summons. It was a good thing they had done away with that nonsense about princes residing in the primary palace. If she had had to travel outside of the building to rouse the child from his bout of immaturity she would have made sure his head rolled.

Changmin caused Sookyung a great deal of grief. No doubt because she had spent his childhood spoiling him terribly. No one in their family ever had to wonder _if_ Sookyung had a favorite, only if he would ever exasperate her enough to allow one of the others to usurp his place in her affections. Perhaps she was being unfair. He was usually rather well behaved. It was only on occasion that the twenty year old threw tantrums worthy of his five year old self.

It was one of these tantrums that had him lying on his bed, flat on his back, clutching a large pillow over his face. Childish logic. If he could not see her, maybe she would go away. Not likely.

“Changmin,” she said.

“I'm not here,” came the muffled response.

Ridiculousness. “Changmin, get up.” Sookyung attempted to wrest the pillow from his grasp.

He held it firm. “Halmeoni, I don't want to.”

Sookyung lifted her hand and brought it down sharply across his stomach. Smack.

“Ow!” Changmin let go of the pillow and curled up on his side, arms wrapped around his stinging belly. “Halmeoni,” he whined.

“Hush,” she said. She sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his back in a soothing circular motion.

Changmin uncurled his body and rolled to face her. “Why can't Jihoon do it?” he asked, wincing when she smacked him again.

Sookyung grimaced. “Is that a real question?” She loved her grandchildren. Unconditionally. But that one. Sometimes she loved him less than the others.

“No,” Changmin said forlornly.

She sighed, tired of his carrying on. “Alright then, what do you want?” He could be a brat but he wasn't irresponsible and this was too much theatrics.

Changmin bit his lower lip.

“Out with it,” she said.

He quickly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to sit next to her. “Kang Joo-ah,” he said with an excited look.

Sookyung sighed again. She should have expected it. She did not know how he did it but the boy always knew the business of everyone in their family. She knew the palace staff was not telling him anything. They were too busy keeping her informed.

Perhaps she should be glad Changmin did not show much interest in politics. If he did become king he would probably find a way to implement a return to absolute rule. An uncontested return at that.

She might as well tell him everything. If she did not he would just find out on his own and then he would be upset with her.

-

Crazy, Changmin was thinking a few days later. His grandmother and his aunt were crazy.

And inconsiderate.

Crazy and inconsiderate.

He agreed that something needed to be done. Only a fool (his uncle) would think they could ignore everything and keep living as usual, but did they have to blindside Yunho with this? His hyung already had someone he wanted to marry, which was why Changmin was going to tell him everything as soon as he-

His phone rang.

-called.

Changmin quickly touched the answer button. He didn't bother with the typical greetings. Instead going straight to,“Hyung, halmeoni loves you less than Jihoon.” Not really, but the exaggeration would catch Yunho's attention.

“What?” came Yunho's confused reply.

“She and aunty are sacrificing you.”

“What?”

“You should just stay in the military. Abdicate. Jihye can rule,” said Changmin. She really couldn't. If Yunho abdicated, Jihye would do the same and then Jihoon would be Royal Prince successor. No one wanted that. They would have hundreds of scandals instead of just the one.

“Changmin,” said Yunho firmly. “Make sense.”

“Don't you get the news there?”

“Yes. We get the news.”

“Then you saw the problem uncle caused?”

“Yes,” said Yunho.

“Then why are you confused?”

“Changmin,” Yunho almost shouted.

“Halmeoni and aunty are sacrificing your freedom to fix uncle's mistake,” said Changmin. “They're marrying you off to a... you know.”

Silence.

“Married?” asked Yunho.

“Yes hyung. Married.”

“To who?” asked Yunho.

“I already told you. They're marrying you to a-”

“I get it Changmin. I meant to which person, specifically. Don't tell me you don't know.”

“Does it matter who it is?” Why wasn't his hyung more alarmed? Changmin would have thrown a fit. Hell, he had thrown a fit (and gotten smacked for his trouble) and it wasn't even happening to him. Yunho didn't like boys. He shouldn't be this calm. Did he? “Hyung,” he whispered into the phone, “do you like boys?”

Yunho ignored the question. “Just tell me who.”

Maybe he did like boys. “There's three of them. Kim Kibum, Kim Ryeowook, and Kim Jaejoong.”

“Kim Jaejoong,” said Yunho softly.

“Hyung?”

“Kim Jaejoong,” Yunho said again. “Tell halmeoni it's okay if it's him.”

“What?” Changmin was shocked. What about Ara?

“Tell halmeoni it's okay if it's Jaejoong.”

“Do you know him?”

“Yeah,” said Yunho.

-

Yunho replaced the receiver on the wall phone and leaned his forehead against it. Yeah, he knew Kim Jaejoong. If you could consider one meeting five years ago during which he had been completely out of senses and terrified the other boy out of his wits as knowing, then yeah. He knew Kim Jaejoong.


	3. Chapter 2

_Jasmine and honey. The scent had been driving Yunho crazy all night. At first it had just been curiosity. Who was wearing the sweet smelling perfume? After a few drinks and not finding the source of the smell, Yunho's curiosity had progressed to near obsession._

  
_Jihoon had brought him to this party claiming his cousin needed a break from his studies and being the perfect heir. The Kim sisters' parents were away for the weekend and their house staff loved the girls too much to inform on them. Anyone who would was gone with their parents._

  
_This party, although technically no different from any other party thrown by a group of university students, had an exclusive guest list. Only members of the noble class were permitted attendance ensuring no one here would be spreading around any inconvenient photos or videos. Yunho had felt it safe enough to drink the soju Jihoon insisted on plying him with. His cousin had been right. Yunho was twenty-one and needed a break. Sometimes he needed to let go. If he had known letting go would result in his losing his mind over someone's perfume, he would have just stayed home with his textbooks._

  
_Yunho pushed away a girl attempting to hug him as he left the room where most of the party goers had congregated. He didn't know who she was and he didn't care. She was probably too drunk to remember that the Crown Prince had been rude to her. All he cared about was that smell. After walking around then in and out of the ballroom several times, Yunho had concluded the scent was stronger outside of the room. It was coming from somewhere else in the mansion, somewhere up the grand staircase to be exact._

  
_He walked up the stairs, breathing deeper as the scent got stronger. When he reached the top he turned his head towards the left hallway then the right before turning left. He dragged his finger lightly against the wall as he walked, not bothering to take in any of the decorations._

  
_He heard a door open._

  
_Yunho's gaze snapped towards the source of the noise. H+-e barely had time to register dark hair, large eyes, and a full mouth before he was pushing the person back into whatever room the door led to and burying his nose in their neck._

  
_Yunho inhaled deeply. That was it. Jasmine and honey, hidden under a fresh layer of beta scent. Artificial beta scent, he noted. Alpha women wore it often enough for him to recognize it. But he had never smelled it like this before. When those women wore it, he felt relieved. It made them seem less challenging, less threatening, less like he wanted to rip out their throats. When this girl wore it, it felt wrong. All he wanted to do was get it off. Why would anyone want to cover up such a delicious scent?_

  
_He breathed in again, noticing something else, the faint scent of an omega in heat. He nuzzled her neck. “Do you know how gorgeous you smell?”_

  
_He felt hands pushing at his chest. Yunho grabbed them at the wrists and walked the girl back into a wall, keeping his face attached to her neck. He pinned her wrists to the wall near her waist and licked a path up to her ear. “You smell so pretty,” he said._

  
“ _S-stop.”_

  
_Under regular circumstances, Yunho would have stopped immediately. Under regular circumstances, Yunho would not have done this at all. But with his soju addled brain, all he could do was whisper, “Shh, just let me.”_

  
_He released her wrists and slid his hands under her loose shirt. “I'll make you feel good,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down the sides of her torso. “Don't you want that?” He kissed the shell of her ear. “You smell like you want that.”_

  
_He pressed his right hand against her stomach and rubbed. Smooth. He slipped the tips of his finders into the waistband of her pants, smiling at the discovery that she wasn't wearing and underwear. Yunho slid the rest of his hand into her pants and froze._

  
_Not her._

  
_His._

  
_That would explain the bet scent. No male omega would walk around with out it, let alone one in heat. It was dangerous in their country._

  
_Yunho had never met a male omega before but he'd heard enough about them, all of it insulting._

  
_Slut. Whore. Boy cunt. A hole good for fucking but not much else. Not for marrying, certainly not for bonding with. Male omegas were considered dirty creatures who masqueraded is women, luring good men into sin and depravity. Now Yunho knew why. The boy's heat scent smelled just like a woman's. Sweet. Desperate. Wanting._

  
_Yunho wrapped his fingers around the boys cock and squeezed._

  
_The boy groaned._

  
_He would regret this later but right now all he wanted to do was bury himself in the sweet smelling body. “Is that good?”_

  
_The boy whimpered in response._

  
_Yunho pulled his hand out of the boy's pants and turned him around so his from was against the wall. He tugged the boy's pants down and pressed his groin into his bare ass. “Do you want it?”_

  
_The boy nodded._

  
“ _Yes?” Yunho asked._

  
“ _Yes,” the boy said, pushing back into Yunho._

  
_Yunho slid his hand between the boy's thighs, feeling the wetness that had already leaked down. “Just like a slut then.” he said. “Willing to give it to the first alpha that comes along.” The words were harsh, but the boy's quick acquiescence had made Yunho angry._

  
“ _No!” The boy bucked against him, trying to push Yunho off._

  
_Yunho just pressed his body in harder. He smiled into the back of the boy's neck. “Not a slut then?” He dragged his fingers up from between the boy's thighs to to press against his opening. “What do you want then?” He used his other hand to pull down the collar of the boy's shirt, exposing the top of his back. “Should I mark you?”_

  
_Yunho rubbed his fingers against the boy's leaking hole and kissed his way from the base of the boy's neck to the space between his shoulder blades. “Should I mark you?” he asked again. “Make you mine?”_

  
_The boy trembled. “Yes.”_

  
_Yunho pressed two of his fingers into the boy's hole and rubbed is teeth against his back before biting sown. Hard._

  
_He tasted the blood in his mouth when he was jerked away by hands pulling at his shoulder and the back of his shirt._

  
“ _Yunho!”_

  
-

  
Yunho had never treated someone was so disrespectfully before in his life. He had woken up the next morning feeling horrified and ashamed. He'd been sick to his stomach. Jihoon had rubbed his back and told him it was okay as he crouched in front of a toilet dry heaving. Jihoon had hugged him and held back his hair when he'd finally thrown up., despite the black eye Yunho had given him the night before. When Yunho had recovered enough to stop puking and apologize, Jihoon had just told Yunho there was nothing to be sorry for and asked if Yunho was okay. He hadn't been.

  
So when the rest of the family called Jihoon a failure and a screw up, Yunho defended him because although his hyung had done a lot of shitty things over the years, he had never assaulted someone andhe had been there when Yunho needed someone.

  
Jihoon had never told anyone why Yunho spent that week holed up in his rooms refusing to see anyone. When Yunho had curled up on his bed crying, it was Jihoon who had reassured him he wasn't a terrible person. And when Yunho had needed to know who the boy who he had tone that to was, it was Jihoon who had found out for him.

  
Yunho had never felt more remorse towards anyone than he did towards Kim Jaejoong. He had never felt more grateful towards anyone either. Yunho had marked him, defiled him, and Jaejoong had never said a word. Not that anyone would care about what had been done to Jaejoong, they would have said he deserved it, but they would have cared that it had been Yunho who had done it.

  
Yunho couldn't believe he had done such things to someone Changmin's age. He didn't know how to apologize and couldn't face the other boy so he sent him gifts. For five years, Yunho sent Jaejoong gifts. Flowers. Candy. Electronics. New furniture. Cars. Most people assumed one of Jaejoong's sisters had a particularly persistent suitor. Yunho, Jaejoong, and Jihoon were the only ones who new it was all from Yunho.

  
So yes. Yunho 'knew' Kim Jaejoong.

  
But he had no intention of marrying him. He loved Ara too much to do that. But if his grandmother chose Jaejoong then at least he could make sure Jaejoong was taken care of. _He_ would take care of Jaejoong while buying enough time to find another solution to the problem.

  
A soft touch to his shoulder broke Yunho out of his thoughts. He turned his head away from the phone to see Kim Junsu standing next to him. Junsu had entered military service around the same time Yunho had and they had become fast friends. The other alpha was kind, caring, and didn't feel the need for posturing most other alphas felt around Yunho.

  
“Are you alright hyung?” Junsu asked.

  
Yunho smiled. “Yeah. It's just some stuff at home. Nothing that won't work itself out.”

  
-

  
“Kim Jaejoong?” his grandmother asked.

  
“Yes halmeoni.” Changmin had done what Yunho had told him to do and informed their grandmother that Yunho was amenable to her... proposal if Kim Jaejoong was the choice. He wasn't sure what his hyung was thinking but if it would make Yunho's life easier then Changmin would do it.

  
“What do you know about Kim Jaejoong?” his grandmother asked.

  
“Not much.”

  
By all accounts, Kim Jaejoong was something of a hermit. He had one friend, Park Yoochun, and rarely left his family's home. His contacts had told him Jaejoong was a quiet and well behaved beta. Changmin almost snorted. A beta. He wasn't surprised no one seemed to know Jaejoong was an omega. The situation was fairly common in noble families. Parents usually had one of two reactions to sons who were born omegas. Either they gave them up for adoption, effectively disowning and disinheriting them, or they hid them away, keeping anyone from discovering their true nature by dosing them with heat suppressants and beta scented body washes or perfumes.

  
(For the parents who did the second, it was love that drove them to keep their sons under house arrest or to ship them overseas to more liberal minded countries. It was among these families that Grand Prince Jaejoong would find allies and protectors.)

  
“Yunho probably met him through one of his sisters.”

  
“Perhaps,” his grandmother said. “Perhaps not.” She caught the attention of one of her servants. “Bring Jihoon.”

  
“Halmeoni?” Changmin asked.

  
She smiled at him wanly. “Your cousins have secrets Changmin,” she said. “Secrets that have them keeping only each others council. I have let it go for a very long time.” The smile faded. “The things I know about Kim Jaejoong. I think I should not have done so.”

  
-

  
Kim Daejung was disturbed from his review of his company's quarter financial report by a knock on the door of his study.

  
“My Lord, you have messenger.”

  
At this late hour? “Who is it?” he called.

  
“It's a courier from the royal palace My Lord.”

  
Daejung dropped the report and stood. He walked to the door of the study and jerked it open. One of the servants was standing in the hallway, head bowed. “Did he say what this was about?” he asked.

  
“No My Lord. He said he would only speak with you or the Lady.”

  
“Where?”

  
“He's waiting in the receiving room My Lord.'

  
Daejung walked quickly to the first floor. He held no notions that this was about anything good for his family. They had no involvement in politics and were not socially important enough to gain the notice of the Crown. Why then would he have a courier from the palace in his home?

  
When he reached the receiving room he found not only the courier but also several royal guards. They bowed at Daejung's entrance.

  
“What is your business here?” he asked.

  
“My Lord,” the courier said and presented a small, sealed, folded piece of paper.

  
Daejung took it from him, eyes widening when he saw the seal that held the paper closed. It was the seal of the Queen Dowager. “What is this?” he asked, not actually expecting an answer.

  
The courier simply bowed in response.

  
Daejung broke the seal, unfolded the paper, and quickly scanned it's contents. He paled. “What is this?” he asked again looking at the courier.

  
“Her Highness requires a response.”

  
Daejung felt faint. This could not be happening. They had hidden Jaejoong so well. “I must discuss this with my family. We will send a response in a few days time.”

  
“I'm sorry My Lord.” The courier bowed again. “Her Highness requires a response tonight.”

  
Daejung closed his eyes for a moment, gripping the letter tightly. “Her Highness may be informed that I, my wife, and,” he swallowed, “my son will be delighted to attend her.”

  
“Then I will take my leave.” The courier and the guards bowed before turning to leave. “My Lord.” They paused on their way out. “My Lady.”

  
Daejung breathed heavily and closed is eyes. He opened them when a small hand placed itself on his.

  
“What's wrong?” his wife asked.

  
“Jaejoong,” he said brokenly and handed her the letter. He did not want to explain it to her. How could he tell her they would need to send their only son to live in a pit of vipers? How would they tell Jaejoong?

  
-

  
Unbeknownst to his parents, Jaejoong eavesdropped on their conversation that night. What he heard did not upset him at all. He was relieved. Of course he had to marry the Crown Prince. He had never had any intention of doing anything else.

  
The man had bit him. Bled Him. Scarred him. Marked him. He contorted an arm to reach the space between his shoulder blades and gently traced the cluster of raised skin.

  
Claimed him.

 

How could he marry anyone else? How could he bond with anyone else? How could he ever go to anyone else with that on his skin?


	4. Chapter 3

Yoochun worried about Jaejoong constantly. When they were kids he'd worried that Jaejoong didn't get out to play enough. When they were teenagers he'd worried that Jaejoong got out too much. When he'd gone overseas for high school he'd stayed up late every night so that when he called, Jaejoong would already be awake. When he'd returned to Korea he'd begged his parents to get him the same university tutor so he could spend more time with Jaejoong.

  
All of this was okay because Jaejoong worried about Yoochun just as much. When Yoochun had called him one night crying, Jaejoong had almost gotten on a plane to fly to the United States. He would have made it too if his eldest sister's husband hadn't been on his way back from a business trip and caught him at the airport. America may have been friendlier towards male omegas on the surface but it had its dark spaces. Some men were the same no matter which country they came from.

  
A month into his first school year in America, Yoochun had found himself shoved against a locker with another boy pressed up against his back. The boy's friends had stood around them laughing while he'd whispered filthy things in Yoochun's ear. He'd called him a geisha like it was something dirty. The insult was the same one Yoochun had been hearing for most of his life even if the words were different. The boy had said geisha but what he meant was whore.

  
Yoochun had faked sick for a week and begged his parents to send him home, without telling them why. They'd moved so could have abetter life, a happier life. How could he tell them they'd done it in vain. He'd rather have stayed in Korea, at least the monsters there were recognizable. They didn't hide behind a curtain of tolerance. Yoochun didn't have to wonder who was smiling to his face while sneering behind his back. They wore their disgust on their faces for everyone to see.

  
He'd told his parents he missed Jaejoong to much to stay. If they'd let him go home he would've moved in with the Kims. They would have taken him in without a second thought. His parents had refused him. They'd said it do he and Jaejoong some good to spend some time apart.

  
When he'd been forced to return to school Yoochun had been relieved to find that those boys had been the minority. Most of the people who smiled at him were really just smiling at him. He'd befriended a group of student activists and had been safe within their ranks. He'd never had another encounter like that first one again.

  
If he'd known what he would be returning to when he finally came home he would have tried harder to leave that first week.

  
Jaejoong was different. He had never gotten a hint of that change when they spoke on the phone, Jaejoong sounded exactly the same, but it was as clear as daylight seeing him in person.

  
Jaejoong smiled to himself more often and when he thought no one could see him he'd stretch an arm behind his back and rub at the same spot. He was less vocal about how his parents were holding him prisoner and seemed mostly content to spend his time at home. He was mellower. And it had all gotten worse in the last two weeks. Whenever Yoochun asked him if he was alright, Jaejoong would smile and say he was perfect.

  
Well, no more of that. Yoochun was going to get answers and he was going to get them today.

  
Yoochun toed of his shoes in the entryway of the Kim house and ran up to Jaejoong's room, waving at the maids as he passed by. He didn't need to greet anyone when he went there. Jaejoong's house was Yoochun's house. He pushed open the door to Jaejoong's bedroom and found the other boy lying on his bed listening to music. Yoochun knelt on the bed next to him and pulled the small ear buds out of Jaejoong's ears.

  
“Hi,” Jaejoong said, smiling up at him.

  
Yoochun pulled his legs out to sit cross-legged. “Don't 'hi' me,” he said scowling.

  
Jaejoong sat up quickly. “What's wrong?” he asked, eyes scanning Yoochun's face.

  
“What's wrong with _you_?” Yoochun asked back.

  
Jaejoong's face fell into a confused expression. 'Nothing's wrong with me.”

  
“Yes, there is. You've been all loopy for weeks?” Yoochun waved a hand in the air vaguely.

  
“Loopy?”

  
“Yes, loopy. You've been walking around like someone gave you all the good drugs.”

  
Jaejoong frowned. “I haven't.”

  
“You have,” Yoochun said.

  
Jaejoong started to reach one hand behind his back.

  
Yoochun grabbed it, halting it's movement. “And you're doing that all the time now.”

  
"Doing what?”

  
“Don't start with me. You know what,” Yoochun said.

  
Jaejoong tugged his arm free. “It's nothing,” he said.

  
Bullshit. “It's not nothing. You've been walking around floating on clouds and you're dad looks like someone is trying to kill him.” No, that wasn't quite right. “Like someone is trying to kill you.” The man had not been his regular self. Whenever Yoochun saw him, Jaejoong's father looked like he was fighting himself, one side ready to flee at the drop of a hat and the other preparing for certain death.

  
Jaejoong sucked his bottom lip in beneath his teeth.

  
  
Yoochun pulled it out. “Talk,” he said.

  
“It's nothing.”

  
“Jaejoong!” Yoochun glanced worriedly at the hand moving behind Jaejoong's back again. “I'm really worried. Please tell me.”

  
Jaejoong was silent for a moment. “Okay,” he finally said. “I'll tell you.”

  
Yoochun sighed in relief. He and Jaejoong rarely didn't keep secrets from each other. Just this one. Jaejoong could pretend all he wanted that he wasn't hiding anything but Yoochun knew better than to believe it, knew Jaejoong better.

  
“Actually, I have to show you.” Jaejoong rose up on his knees and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. He hesitated before pulling it up over his head and turning so his back faced Yoochun.

  
Yoochun hadn't realized until that moment that it had been a long time since he'd seen Jaejoong with his shirt off. Before Yoochun had gone to America, naked Jaejoong had been a regular occurrence in his life. They'd slept in the same bed, They'd changed in the same room. They'd bathed together. When Yoochun moved back he'd just assumed that his best friend had grown prudish over the rest their teenage years. But Jaejoong only had a problem with things that required him to remove his shirt. He was almost militant about keeping his shirt on.

  
Staring at Jaejoong's back, Yoochun knew the reason why. There, between his best friend's shoulder blades was a scar. Rows of teeth marks formed two perfect crescent moons.

  
A claiming mark.

  
Yoochun carefully traced each small scar. Jaejoong arched his back away from the touch. “It sort of tickles,' he said. He pulled his shirt back down and turned around.

  
“Where did you...” Yoochun trailed off.

  
“A few year ago. Ahyoung and Sooyoung threw a party.”

  
“You went to a party?” Yoochun asked incredulously. “They took you to a party?”

  
“No. That had it here. Umma and appa were away,” Jaejoong said. “I stayed in here almost the entire time.”

  
“Then how did you get _that_?”

  
“There was this boy,” Jaejoong said biting his lower lip. “He smelled me.”

  
“Smelled you?”

  
“Yeah." Jaejoong blushed. "He said I smelled pretty.”

  
“How did he smell you? You're soaked in beta scent.” Alphas had good noses but not that good. No one should have been able to smell Jaejoong through the artificial scent, especially not when he was in his room and they were an entire floor away. They shouldn't even have been able to do it if he was in heat.

  
Yoochun's eyes widened. Someone might have been able to do it if Jaejoong was in heat and that person – that boy, his mind filled in – had a particularly sensitive nose. But Jaejoong couldn't have been in heat. He’d been taking Anestra since he hit puberty, same as Yoochun.

  
“How did he smell you?” Yoochun asked again.

  
“Don't be mad at me,” Jaejoong said.

  
“Why would I be mad at you. Did you do something that would make me mad at you?” He didn't. He wouldn't have.

  
Right?

  
Right?

  
Wrong.

  
“I forgot to take my pill,” Jaejoong said.

  
Bull. Shit. “Not for thirty days you didn't forget.” An omega wouldn't go into heat after a few missed doses of Anestra. It took longer than that for the drug to work it's way out of the body, at least thirty days according to most studies, and then even longer for the body to regulate itself into a regular heat cycle. Jaejoong missed those doses on purpose. “Are you crazy?”

  
“I just wanted to know what it's like,” Jaejoong said softly.

  
“What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that is?”

  
“No one dies from heat anymore Chunnie. It's not the 1920s.”

  
Yoochun kicked him. His friend was stupid. He had a stupid friend. “Someone claimed you! How many people were here that day? How many alphas? Don't you know what could have happened to you?”

  
“They're not animals Yoochun. Alphas don't go around raping people.”

  
Not anymore. Not women. Yoochun kicked him again. “You have a claiming mark. Someone did rape you.”

  
“No, he didn't.”

  
“What?”

  
“He didn't,” Jaejoong said.

  
“You _let_ him?”

  
“No. He didn't get that far. Someone else-”

  
“ _Someone else?_ ” Jaejoong had said boy. Singular. One. Not multiple persons.

  
“Yes. Someone else pulled him away.” Jaejoong sounded _disappointed_.

  
Yoochun nearly kicked him again.

  
“And it wouldn't have been rape,” Jaejoong said. “I would have let him. I told him yes.”

  
“Why would you do that?”

  
“Because he's mine Chunnie.” Jaejoong smiled. “I could feel it when he touched me. He's _mine_.”

  
“Yours.”

  
“Yes. It's like I could feel our souls touching. He's my match. He's perfect.”

  
Yoochun didn't know what to say to that. Jaejoong was telling him he'd found his perfect match, his soul mate. That was rare, so rare that most people didn't believe in it anymore. And why would they. Most men who'd found their perfect match in a male omega had firmly rejected the idea. Theoretically, an alpha or omega could bond with anyone.

  
“How can you be sure he's your match?”

  
“I can feel him here.” Jaejoong pressed a hand to his chest. “Not anything clear, just small impressions sometimes, but it's him.”

  
Yoochun felt the anger leave him. What was he supposed to do with that? If Jaejoong had really found his soul mate. then Yoochun would never be anything but happy for him. “Do you at least know his name?”

  
“It's Yunho,” Jaejoong answered.

  
Yunho. Yoochun didn't think they knew any Yunhos but Jaejoong's family would have met a lot of people while he'd been gone. He only knew of one Yunho and Jaejoong couldn't be talking about –

  
“Jung Yunho.”


	5. Chapter 4

Changmin could see why Yunho had chosen Jaejoong. The other boy was pretty, if you liked that sort of thing, which Changmin did not. But apparently Yunho did. Jaejoong didn’t quite look like a girl. Changmin would never have mistaken him for anything other than a man if he had passed him on the street as a stranger, just a very pretty sort of delicate looking man.

Yunho liked delicate things. Ara was proof enough of that. So Changmin supposed that if Yunho like boys, and apparently he did even if Yunho had never said it outright, then Kim Jaejoong would be Yunho’s type. Jaejoong was _exactly_ Yunho’s type if he believed Jihoon but Changmin wasn’t sure he did.

He couldn’t imagine Yunho assaulting anyone, whether he was intoxicated or not. Yunho was very in control of himself. He was always polite, even in the face of people who clearly disdained him. He was always kind and generous. He would probably turn the royal palace into an orphanage and donate all the family’s assets to charity if he could. He was difficult anger, although when he did get angry it tended to be explosive.

He was never violent.

But even though Jihoon lied a lot, he rarely lied about family, and never about Yunho, and never to their grandmother. So while Changmin didn’t want to believe Jihoon, logic argued that what his cousin had told them must be true, at least in part.

There was of course a way to determine if Jihoon was being truthful but Changmin couldn’t exactly walk up to a person he had never met before and ask him to take of his shirt. Well, he could, and would probably have done it to one of his friends, but he couldn’t do it to a complete stranger and in front of said stranger’s parents. He would need to wait until his grandmother could confirm it, something she would do that night.

Then Changmin would decide whether or not to comply with Yunho’s second request, to take care of Jaejoong until Yunho could come home. He had flat out refused when Yunho had asked. What business was it of his to look after some random omega just because Yunho wasn’t there?

None.

But things would be different if Yunho had actually claimed, or sort of claimed, Jaejoong. That would make Jaejoong family, or something very close to family. Changmin wouldn’t leave the other boy to fend for himself in those circumstances, not with enemies lurking in every corner.

If Jaejoong was marked then Changmin would not only take care of Jaejoong, he would take care of Yunho too. His hyung must be in serious denial, serious enough to go out and get a girlfriend after he had already claimed someone else.

And what was Changmin supposed to do about Ara? Avoid her? He wouldn’t lie to her, she was his friend. But he couldn’t tell her the truth either.

Yunho would have to do that. Yunho had put him in a very bad place. Changmin would make sure he would pay for it.

-

Screw up. Failure. Good for nothing. Jihoon had heard it all.

He could admit that some of it was deserved but it hurt to hear such things from his own family. Shouldn’t they, more than the gossipers or tabloids, be able to understand him? Be able to accept him and his principles even though he didn’t always agree with them?

Obviously not.

His aunts and uncles couldn’t stand him. His cousins barely tolerated him. His own parents merely sighed and shook their heads at him.

All because he disagreed with them over one small matter. One little insignificant thing that should have become a non-issue decades ago. They though he was a radical and rebellious and he thought they were ignorant bigots.

But look at them all now. Jihoon would smile gleefully when they were all forced to eat their own words.

His grandmother tried, he knew she did, but even she grew tired of him at times. He could excuse the behavior in his grandmother. She was old and somewhat set in her ways. But even with that she was probably still the most ‘liberal’ member of his family. There was no excuse for the rest of them.

The only person Jihoon actually liked in his family was Yunho and he hadn’t always. His cousin had had a rather rude awakening five years ago. It had brought the two of them much closer. And while on some levels Jihoon considered Yunho’s behavior since then deplorable, he understood that Yunho was confused.

But five years was really too long to stay confused.

Jihoon had been somewhat shocked when his their grandmother had asked him about Yunho and Jaejoong but not terribly so. The woman had spies in the house of every noble in the country, even the ones who weren't important. It was obvious she had heard _something_ about Jaejoong's situation even though almost no one else had and she didn't know all the details.

So Jihoon had filled them in for her. He could have done without Changmin being there though.

Yunho would probably hate him at first. No. Yunho didn't really hate anyone, but he would be angry. Jihoon was prepared to deal with that. He would weather Yunho's rage as long as he needed to because he truly believed his cousin would not be happy with anyone but Jaejoong.

Ara was sweet. Jihoon had nothing against her. He liked her. But she wasn't right for Yunho.

No matter that Yunho had spent the last three years trying to convince himself and Jihoon that she was. Jihoon wasn't buying it. Yunho was always very careful with her.

Too careful.

And Yunho might convince himself that he was attracted to her but he would never be as attracted to her as he was to Jaejoong.

So Jihoon had gladly told their grandmother exactly what had happened between Yunho and Jaejoong that night and what Yunho had been doing for the last five years.

She had been disappointed. Whether it was disappointment in Yunho's actions at the party that night or in his actions during the time since (his complete failure to take any real responsibility), or both, Jihoon didn't know. But he did know that their grandmother wouldn't allow Yunho to get away with it anymore. She wouldn't have allowed him to get away with it even if she hadn't been planning to marry Yunho off.

Jihoon would have have told her eventually, maybe after giving Yunho another year to straighten himself out, and Yunho would be marrying Kim Jaejoong either way.

Their grandmother had had a soul mate bond herself. She knew what it meant. She wouldn't let Yunho ignore his.

All Jihoon had done was made sure their grandmother wouldn't go through the unnecessary process of evaluating the other candidates. She could come out of tonight's meeting hating Jaejoong thoroughly and she would still accept him.

So when Jaejoong arrived at the palace with his parents for his formal meeting the Queen Dowager and the Queen Consort Jihoon had bowed to him. It was perhaps improper considering that Jihoon was a prince and Jaejoong was the son of a noble of the great importance, but Jihoon wasn't exactly known for his strict adherence to protocol. And after all, one day soon Jaejoong would be a prince himself, consort to the Royal Prince Successor, and the bow would be expected. Jihoon was just starting early.

He was sure Jaejoong would have a very rude awakening when he moved into the palace. He should know he wouldn’t be without allies.

-

“I will speak with Jaejoong alone,” the Queen Dowager said.

Jaejoong nearly smiled in relief at the words. He loved his parents but they were trying their best to ruin his life, in the most subtle way possible of course. There were only so many ways to say no to the Queen Dowager without outright refusing her.

In any other situation Jaejoong would be grateful for their protection be he neither wanted nor needed it here. He understood that they didn't want him to marry the son of a man who had all but declared his support for eradicating people like Jaejoong but they didn't need to be worried. Yunho would keep him safe. Jaejoong knew he would.

-

Queen Dowager Sookyung could admit that she quite like Kim Jaejoong. He was intelligent, graceful, determined and very beautiful. Sookyung would not find it a hardship to welcome the boy into her family.

If he had the mark.

“Remove your shirt,” she ordered.

“Yes, daebi mama.” Jaejoong complied without nervousness or hesitation. Good. Shyness of any kind would not serve him well. It would have been something he would be mocked and ridiculed for it, a weakness to be exploited.

“Come here,” she said.

Jaejoong moved closer to her seat. He turned around so his back faced her and knelt on the floor.

Sookyung stared at the mark on his back. Seeing it was a surprise even though she had been expecting it. She hadn't really believed it was there until it was in front of her.

Sookyung raised one wrinkled hand to Jaejoong's shoulder to hold him still as she leaned her face in towards his back. She inhaled deeply once. Twice. Three times.

Yes. That was her grandson's scent.

She lifted her head and gently pulled on Jaejoong's shoulder, indicating that he should turn around. When he was facing her she cupped his cheeks in her palms and pressed a light kiss to his forehead.

Yes. She could accept Kim Jaejoong into her family.

After she did something about the boy's rashness. Forwardness and pro activeness were one thing. Rashness was another. She would have no more of that in her family. The men in her life had caused quite enough trouble already.


	6. Chapter 5

Junsu was happy to be going home.

He was not happy to be packing. He huffed as he sat on his luggage and tried to pull the zip closed with no success.

But he was happy to be going home.

Not that his time in the military had been a terrible experience. It hadn’t been. He’d made some of the best friends he would ever have. He just missed his family. He felt left out when he wasn’t with them every day. He had called Junho and his parents as often as he could but it wasn’t the same as being at home.

Although, he felt lucky sometimes that he wasn’t around to watch the current family drama unfold.

According to Junho, their cousin Jaejoong was driving the entire family crazy with worry and their uncle was just driving their father plain crazy.

Junsu wasn’t looking forward to getting stuck in the middle of that. He wouldn’t be able to skirt around the edges of the issue and carry on with life as normal the way Junho could. Jaejoong’s problems inevitably always became Junsu’s problems. Either Jaejoong would rope Junsu into his nonsense or Yoochun would find a way to do it for him.

It was ridiculous. Junsu was not responsible for them. He had problems of his own to deal with without adding theirs to the pile as well. It was not Junsu’s fault that his aunt and uncle were overprotective. It was not Junsu’s fault that Yoochun’s family moved to America. It was not Junsu’s fault Jaejoong walked around like some sort of pod person half the time.

And so what if sometimes the most Junsu had to worry about was what he was going to do with his hair. He would like to have the time to worry about it instead of worrying about Jaejoong and Yoochun and their crazy. He’d been happy to leave for military service because it enabled him to get away from them, even if it was only two years. It was better than nothing.

Those two never bothered Junho the same way. Junsu thought it was because his twin was a beta, not an alpha like Junho. Junsu felt sorry for thinking that way sometimes. He didn’t like to give in to stereotypes. However any remorse he felt was usually wiped away by Jaejoong's and Yoochun's vehement protests. They would deny it until their dying breaths.

They were not ‘helpless omegas in need of an alpha take care of them. They were quite capable of taking care of themselves. Thank you very much. And Junsu should be nicer to his dongsaeng.’

Junsu would call bullshit but Yoochun would probably hit him for it. So mostly he just kept these thoughts to himself.

Yoochun hit hard.

Junsu scowled, giving up on getting his bag closed. Suddenly the idea of going home didn’t sound so appealing. He stood up and kicked the useless piece of luggage.

Maybe he could just become career military and avoid Jaejoong’s drama for the rest of his life.

No.

His mother would kill him and if she didn’t he probably wouldn’t survive anyway. A little less than two years was one thing. Forever was quite another thing altogether.

“What’s with the face?”

Junsu looked up to see Yunho’s inquiring face. Yunho had finished packing hours ago. He’d tried to help Junsu at first but had given up expressing his incredulity at how Junsu had managed to accumulate so much shit.

And yes. His hyung had called it shit.

“Hyung, can I come live with you?”Junsu asked, only half not really meaning it. “I’m sure you’re family will like me. I’m very nice. Right hyung?”

“Sure,” Yunho said, crouching to help Junsu with the stubborn bag. He flipped the top half of the luggage open, shaking his head at the contents before starting to rearrange them. “You can meet Jihye. She’s never met you and she already loves you.”

Junsu frowned. Yunho had told him all about his sister over the last two years. Junsu might not be the most aggressive or authoritarian alpha around but that did not mean he wanted to marry another alpha and definitely not a member of the royal family. No offense to Yunho but his own family would kill him if he made them suffer under the scrutiny that came with being the in-laws of a princess.

“No thanks,” he said grimacing. “I will just suffer under the rule of my evil cousin and his eviler best friend.”

Yunho laughed. He pulled the top of the luggage shut again and easily closed the zipper joining the two halves.

Junsu wanted to kick him a little. His hyung should not be good at everything. It wasn’t right. How did he even know how to pack properly? Didn't his hyung have people whose jobs were to do that for him?

Yunho stood up. “The best friend you’re not in love with?”

Junsu wanted to kick him a lot. “I’m not in love with him hyung. And yes. That one.”

Junsu didn’t know how, when, or why but Yunho had gotten it into his head that Junsu was in love with Park Yoochun. (And hadn’t Junsu been surprised to find out that Yunho didn’t actually have a problem with gay people despite what the King felt about such people himself. Not that it mattered to Junsu. It didn’t. Because he was not gay. Or in love with Yoochun. He was not). When Junsu had denied it, Yunho had jokingly offered up his sister. Junsu’s horrified refusal to even meet Jihye had not helped to convince Yunho of his lack of romantic feelings for Yoochun.

Yunho grinned. “Of course you’re not.”

“Hyung, I’m not,” Junsu said firmly.

“I know.”

He most certainly did not know or he wouldn't keep bringing it up.

“Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be so bad to be back home.”

Junsu wasn’t holding his breath on that one. “You don’t know them. They’re awful hyung. They’re both totally innocent on the outside. All of my family adores them, even when they do wrong things. But once they get me alone they turn into these evil little monsters and I’m slave Junsu.”

Yunho laughed loudly at that. “They can’t be that bad.”

“They are.”

“You should let me meet them.”

Junsu let out a horrified gasp. “Never.” With Junsu’s luck they would turn his new best friend against him.

Besides, it would be hard to get Jaejoong anywhere near Yunho without disobeying every single one of his aunt’s and uncle’s rules.

“I don’t want you to meet them,” Junsu said. “And Jaejoong’s parents will never let you near him, prince or not.”

“Shame,” Yunho said. “I think they sound fun.”

‘Fun’ was not the word Junsu would use to describe either Jaejoong or Yoochun. It wasn’t among any of the words he would use.

Manipulative.

Conniving.

These were better words. Much better.

“As the person who actually knows them, I’m telling you they are not fun. Forget everything people like to say about omegas being docile and obedient. They would eat you alive.”

-

Yunho hoped Junsu wouldn’t be too angry when he found out what was happening with Jaejoong and that Junsu would forgive him for feigning ignorance whenever he talked about his cousin.

Yunho had never had a friend like Junsu, someone who disregarded his status so thoroughly that Yunho felt he was actually a regular person instead of just playing the role of one.

Junsu treated him like he was a long lost friend. He teased him. He argued with him. He hugged him. He told Yunho when he was being stupid. He called Yunho hyung.

Yunho had friends who called him hyung but they only did it when he was around them. When they talked about him with other people he was “Prince Yunho.” When Junsu talked about him he was “my hyung.”

Maybe it was a little silly of Yunho to place such importance on something like that but it was an important distinction between Junsu and Yunho's other friends.

His father would probably think it was rude and disrespectful for Junsu not to use his title but for Yunho it was the thing that had cemented his emotional bond with the other man. He like being Yunho, hyung, instead of Yunho, wangseja. It was something he'd only ever had with Changmin.

It would feel like cutting out a piece of his heart if Junsu was too angry to forgive him for what he'd done and intended to do to Jaejoong. And Yunho recognized that their was something to be angry about. Changmin had made sure of that.

But what could Yunho do? He wouldn't marry Jaejoong.

Marriage wasn't the only solution. It may be the best solution to prove that his father was not a murderous tyrant. How could he be if he willingly accepted a male omega into his family, to marry his only son, the Crown Prince no less?

It may be the easiest solution to soothe the feathers that had been ruffled by his father's apparent support of a terrorist hate group, proving their country and it's people were accepting and progressive and not stuck in the Dark Ages.

But it wasn't best for Yunho. It was not easy for Yunho.

He was not Jihoon. He could not easily disregard everything he'd been taught to suit the whims of a group of politicians.

Just this once, Yunho would be selfish. He would do what he wanted to do instead of what it was dutiful to do.

And that was what he told his grandmother the first night he was home from military service.

He didn't seen his father.

He didn't go to his mother.

He brushed Jihye off when she had excitedly tried to welcome him home, regretful at the hurt look that had adorned her face.

He told Jihoon he would speak to him later.

He avoided Changmin.

He went home and requested a private conversation with his grandmother before he could even consider having a happy family reunion.

He told her that he couldn't marry Jaejoong, no wouldn't marry Jaejoong. That he knew what he had done to the boy had been the height of shame but he would pay restitution for it. That he would make sure Jaejoong was always taken care of. That the boy would want for nothing in life as long as Yunho lived.

“Except for you,” she said softly, gaze held unwaveringly on Yunho as he knelt before her.

Yunho had never seen the look she wore on her face in that moment. It held a mix of sadness and disappointment and a touch of what Yunho was certain was anger.

“He will want for noting in life as long as you live,” she echoed his words back to him. “Except for you. As long as he lives.”

“Halmeoni, he'll fall in love with someone else,” Yunho said.

His grandmother raised her eyebrows at him. “You acknowledge it then?” she asked. “That he is in love with you?”

Yunho bowed his head. “Yes.”

How could he not acknowledge it? He'd kept track of Jaejoong for the last five years. Had listened to reports of how the boy's face brightened whenever Yunho sent a gift only to darken when the gift was mistaken as intended for one of his sisters. He'd seen the pictures of the boy with wistful, longing gaze, a hand up the back of his shirt rubbing at the mark that had been left their. The mark Yunho had left there.

In love. Yunho acknowledged it.

“Do you think this is only about some political maneuver?” his grandmother asked.

He had thought that. Until she had just asked that question. “Halmeoni?”

“I want what is best for you,” she said. “Always. I have always done what is best for you. Do you think me heartless that I would use you so shamelessly?”

Yunho didn't have an answer for her. His grandmother was a pragmatic woman. But she had always been adoring when it came to their family. She cared more for them than she did for that fate of a country. Yunho had always attributed that to the omega in her.

But this was more than the fate of a country. This affected the fates of all the people of their country and what was the Queen Dowager if not the mother of the nation.

His grandmother sighed. She leaned forward and placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing gently. “You disappoint me child. Never before. But today you disappoint me.”

Yunho let out a broken sound, he grabbed her hand when she moved to pull it away.

“And what can I do?” she asked. “I will allow you to make your own mistakes.”

“Yunho held her hand tightly between his own. “It's not a mistake.”

“I am certain you think so.” She sighed again. “If you will not marry Jaejoong, you must tell him this yourself.”

Yunho let go of her hand. “Halmeoni!” he protested.

His grandmother raised her hand sharply, cutting off his objection. “I will not break his heart for you. You must do that on your own.”

-

Jaejoong slid to the floor against a wall in the small room, tucking his head down in between his knees. His body shook. Whether it shook with devastation or with fury he didn't know. Likely, it was both but he had no room in his body to think about it.

He'd never regretted his habit of eavesdropping on conversations he wasn't meant to hear until now. He had wanted to surprise Queen Sookyung (and sneak peaks at Yunho if he was honest with himself). They'd gotten along quite well over the past few months. So well that Jaejoong thought one day he would probably be closer to her than he was to his own grandmother.

But not if Yunho had his way.

Why was he doing this?

Jaejoong pounded a fist against his chest.

His heart hurt.

Don't cry, he told himself. Breathe deep. Don't cry.

Don't cry.


	7. Chapter 6

“What is wrong with you?” Changmin asked Yunho. Their grandmother wasn’t quite refusing to speak to Yunho but Changmin could tell something had broken in their relationship since Yunho had come home.  
  
It wasn’t difficult to guess what the reason for that break was. Changmin hadn’t seen Jaejoong for a week and he’d grown used to having the other boy around every day. Their grandmother had taken Jaejoong under her wing of sorts, something Changmin was grateful for because he hadn’t been prepared to do so himself. But now Jaejoong was nowhere to be found.  
  
Changmin found the whole thing unsettling. Yunho wasn’t wishy washy like this. When he said he would do something, he did it. He wasn’t a liar. He didn’t hurt people. He wouldn’t give someone hope and then crush their dreams. That wasn’t Yunho.  
  
This wasn’t Yunho.  
  
The person standing in front of him was unrecognizable. Yunho had seemed a little off whenever Changmin had talked to him on the phone, evidenced by the fact that Changmin had never had to scold him before, but he hadn’t been expecting a radical personality change.  
  
“I don’t even know you right now,” Changmin said.  
  
Yunho ran a hand through his hair. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”  
  
Changmin wasn’t accepting that. “Hyung, what are you doing?”  
  
Yunho groaned in frustration. “I’m not doing anything you wouldn’t do yourself.”  
  
Changmin stopped him there. “No. Seriously, what the fuck?” Changmin would never behave the way Yunho was behaving.  
  
But he never would have agreed to marry someone he wouldn’t even think about being attracted to. He also never would have claimed someone he’d never met before either.  
  
This was not Yunho.  
  
“I’m not gay Changmin.”  
  
Changmin thought back to the conversation he’d had with Yunho after first finding out their grandmother wanted his cousin to get married.  
  
“Hyung, do you like boys?”  
  
Yunho had talked around the question and Changmin had just assumed his hyung was flexible enough to marry a man, especially after Yunho had chosen the man himself.  
  
“You’re not gay?” Changmin echoed back.  
  
“No. I’m not,” Yunho paused, “attracted to men that way.”  
  
“What the fuck hyung!” Changmin shouted.  
  
Yunho stepped back at the uncharacteristic outburst. “Changmin.”  
  
It was one thing if Yunho really wasn’t attracted to men, wasn’t attracted to Jaejoong (which was stupid and completely untrue. Yunho was stupid) but there was another issue here affecting Changmin.  
  
“Why did you make me tell halmeoni you would marry Jaejoong? Why did you make me tell her he was acceptable, that it was ok if it was him?”  
  
“He is acceptable,” Yunho said quietly. “He’s just not acceptable for me.”  
  
Jaejoong was acceptable for Yunho. He was probably the person most acceptable for Yunho. “You made me a liar,” Changmin said.  
  
“I know. I’m sorry.”  
  
Changmin would forgive Yunho eventually but for now he was going to be angry. Yes, he agreed that there were other ways to fix his uncle’s mess and thought the president and ministers were probably trying to push a personal agenda, something he never said out loud, but he liked Jaejoong. Jaejoong was bossy and a little bitchy but he was also sweet and considerate. Changmin liked him, so he didn’t like Yunho right now.  
  
“Sorry isn’t good enough hyung.”  
  
-  
  
Junsu didn’t know what to do about the Jaejoong Situation.  
  
So he stopped talking to Yunho.  
  
Unfortunately, Jaejoong and Yoochun had proven true to history and the Jaejoong Situation had also become the Yoochun Situation.  
  
Junsu didn’t know what to do about the Yoochun Situation.  
  
So he stopped talking to Yoochun.  
  
Tried to anyway. Junho hadn’t really been on board with that and Yoochun insisted on talking at Junsu even when he refused to answer back. But Yoochun had had over fifteen years of practice at provoking Junsu into a response so not answering didn’t really work.  
  
Which was unfair. Yoochun was not his responsibility. Jaejoong wasn’t Junsu’s responsibility. Blood relation to someone did not make him responsible for a person despite what the rest of their family thought. It also didn’t obligate him to be on his cousin’s side.  
  
Junsu didn’t stop talking to Yunho because he agreed with his family and Yoochun, because he didn’t. They were delusional and Jaejoong was in the wrong. His family should be happy Jaejoong wouldn’t be thrown into the spotlight. Junsu didn’t know why his uncle had accepted that ridiculous proposal, royal family or not, but he was sure it was probably Jaejoong’s fault.  
  
Probably.  
  
Junsu stopped talking to Yunho because Yunho had lied to him. Yunho never once said that he had met Jaejoong, never said they were pseudo engaged or something. That was not how you treated your best friend so Junsu revoked Yunho’s friendship rights.  
  
If everyone wanted to think he did it because Yunho had made Jaejoong miserable then that was fine. At least no one would nag him about supporting his family.  
  
Yoochun was a whole other problem.  
  
-  
  
Jaejoong had stopped crying after the first week. Yoochun knew this because he had been there. He had been there when Jaejoong had stumbled into Yoochun’s bedroom, pale faced and puffy eyed. He had been there when Jaejoong couldn’t speak, when all that had come out of his mouth were despairing cries. He had been there when Jaejoong refused to answer his parents’ and sisters’ phone calls and refused to go home. He had been there when Jaejoong had locked them both in Yoochun’s room when Jaejoong’s father had finally come to bring his son home. He had been there when Jaejoong had begged to be left alone. And he had been there when Jaejoong stopped crying because that was when Yoochun had stopped crying.  
  
He had stopped crying and wrote nasty things about Jung Yunho on the message boards of the fan sites dedicated to the royal family. It was impulsively vindictive and not something Yoochun would usually do, but it made him feel better, even if Jaejoong had asked him not to do it.  
  
Yoochun was still doing it.  
  
“It’s not his fault,” Jaejoong said from his spot on Yoochun’s bed, his face still scarred with sorrow, even if it was no longer red and tear streaked. He hadn’t left Yoochun’s room in two weeks but that was okay because Yoochun would let him live there forever if he wanted.  
  
“The hell it isn’t,” Yoochun grumbled as he pounded angrily at his laptop keys. It was childish but each message made him feel a little less like committing homicide.  
  
“How much longer are you going to do that?” Jaejoong asked.  
  
Yoochun glanced at him quickly. Jaejoong was sitting hunched over, arms wrapped tightly around a pillow that had been perfectly plump and plush but had transformed into a lumpy mass after two weeks of punching and squeezing. “Until I don’t want to kill him anymore.”  
  
“Don’t be mad at him,” Jaejoong said. “It’s my fault.”  
  
The hell it was. “No, it isn’t.” Yoochun scrunched his nose up and typed again. The netizens weren’t tolerant of his criticism of their most beloved Crown Prince. So far Yoochun had been called a liar, been accused of treachery, and threatened with disembowelment. He was reveling in it. The arguments with strangers were a good source of stress relief.  
  
He heard Jaejoong shifting around on the bed. “What are you posting?” Jaejoong asked.  
  
Yoochun pursed his lips. Jaejoong had asked him the same question every hour he was awake since Yoochun had first sat at his computer desk. “You know what I’m posting.” Just because he disapproved of Yoochun’s activity didn’t mean Jaejoong had to keep checking up on him. He should just ignore Yoochun unless he wanted to be comforted like a normal person with a broken heart.  
  
Jaejoong sighed loudly. “I wish you wouldn’t.”  
  
Yoochun sighed back at him in exasperation. “And I wish you would. But you won’t. So I’m doing it for you.”  
  
“But—”  
  
“But nothing,” Yoochun interrupted. He turned around in the chair to see Jaejoong flopping onto his side, body still curled tightly around the abused pillow. “He’s an asshole. I’m just making sure the world knows it.”  
  
Well, maybe not the world. But Yoochun was sure he had converted at least a few of his Korean brethren to the evils of Prince Yunho. If he was honest, it was more like two, but that was still two less Prince Yunho worshippers than there were before. He could be satisfied with that.  
  
“I just want the two of you to get along.”  
  
That was something that was never going to happen. Yoochun was more than happy not being friends with that lying, deceitful—  
  
Wait. “What?” Yoochun asked because he had obviously heard that wrong. There was no reason for him and the Crown Prince to get along because they would never have any reason to meet.  
  
Jaejoong buried his face in the pillow. “I want you and Yunho to get along.”  
  
That’s what Yoochun thought he’d heard.  
  
“You’re my best friend,” Jaejoong continued, “and he’s—“  
  
“Jaejoong.” Yoochun shook his head slowly. “Why would we need to get along?”  
  
Jaejoong looked up. “For when I marry him.”  
  
Yoochun covered his ears and shook his head faster. He knew something was wrong. Jaejoong had gotten past the heartbroken crying stage too fast. Yoochun just didn’t know if he wanted to know whatever crazy thing Jaejoong was planning now.  
  
-  
  
Jaejoong wasn’t crazy. The things he did might have seemed crazy to some people but he always did them with a clear and rational mind. Deep down Yoochun knew that. Jaejoong’s best friend just thought it was his duty to make sure Jaejoong wasn’t doing anything to get himself in trouble.  
  
When Jaejoong had first stopped taking the heat suppressants it had been out of curiosity. However, it wasn’t the reckless curiosity of a teenager just wanting to do something because he could. It was scientific curiosity.  
  
Jaejoong had a computer log of the observations he’d made from the day he stopped taking Anestra to the day he’d gone back on it. The experience had been enlightening.  
  
Theoretically, a male omega’s estrus cycle shouldn’t be any different from a female’s but there wasn’t exactly a multitude of information in Korean on the subject. Jaejoong’s very existence was taboo in most circles so he’d gotten the information through the only channel he had readily available. Himself.  
  
It had paid off because he knew what to expect now. The only problem he had to work out was how to make sure he would be around Yunho at the right time. But he had a while to figure out what to do about that, three months give or take a few days.  
  
Jaejoong shook one small blue pill out of a bottle into his hand. He placed it on the edge of the sink and crushed it with the end of his toothbrush. When the pill had been reduced to a fine powder he brushed the powder into the sink with his hand and rinsed all traces of the blue dust down the drain.  
  
Three months.  
  
No problem.


	8. Chapter 7

Junsu watched his phone light up as he sipped his coffee. He watched it go dark. He watched it light up again, ‘Park Yoochun,’ on the caller ID.

He had saved Yoochun’s number in his phone as ‘Little Devil 2’, Jaejoong having already been listed as ‘Little Devil’, but the boy had stolen his phone and changed it, along with a whole slew of other settings. Junsu was still discovering random changes Yoochun had made while in possession of the phone so Junsu thought it was best not to change the name back.

Junsu smiled behind his tall cup.

If he was a better person, the person Junho thought he should be, he would answer the calls. If he was a better person, the person he was to people whose names were not Kim Jaejoong or Park Yoochun, he would block the phone number and put Yoochun out of the misery of having to listen to continuous ringing.

But he wasn’t and he derived a perverse sort of satisfaction every time he left the ringing phone unanswered or hit the ignore button, a satisfaction which he did not feel guilty for. Yoochun had brought it on himself.

Junsu believed it said a lot that he didn’t behave this way with anyone other than Jaejoong or Yoochun. Junsu was a good person. If they made his behavior degenerate to that of a ten year old in a strop then that was their fault, not his.

He was such a good person that he was sitting in a café that he hadn’t even known existed before today, surrounded by people who filled out South Korea’s under thirty social A-list, pretending not to be affronted by their sidelong glances because politically influential or not his family’s blood was just as noble as any of theirs, waiting for a best friend— ex-best friend— whom he hadn’t spoken to in almost two weeks.

A regular person would have subjected said ex-best friend to at least another two weeks of non-contact, so Junsu’s willingness to be here was testament to his extremely good nature.

“Are you going to answer that?”

Junsu put his cup down and looked up at the figure standing next to his table.

“Can I sit?” Yunho asked.

Junsu looked around at the café seeing the men in black suits who had not so discreetly sat down at the tables next to his and the men and women in plain street clothes who had discreetly positioned themselves around the café. Junsu would never have noticed them if Yunho hadn’t once explained how his security detail operated. The Crown Prince couldn’t go anywhere without an entourage of babysitters.

Junsu stared at him expressionlessly. “I’m sure this lowly subject can’t dictate where you sit.” Junsu paused and added, “jeoha.”

Yunho flinched at the formal style but still pulled out the chair across from Junsu and sat down, pained look on his face as he did so. “Junsu,” he entreated.

“Yes, jeoha.”

Yunho grimaced.

Junsu picked up his cup again and hid his smile behind it. He pointedly did not think about the fact that he was being just as juvenile with Yunho as he was being with Yoochun. It didn’t say much of anything about his relationship with Yunho but it said something about his relationship with Yoochun that he would never be ready to admit.

“I’m sorry.”

Of course Yunho was sorry. It was only right and proper that he should be but—

“What are you sorry for?”

Yunho blinked. “What?”

“What. Are. You. Sorry. For,” Junsu said slowly. “Jeoha,” he added on at the end because he liked the way Yunho flinched whenever he said it. It was empowering.

“Everything,” Yunho said cautiously.

Junsu shook his head. “No.”

“No?” Yunho asked.

“No.” Junsu said again. There would be no forgiveness until Yunho apologized properly.

Specifically.

Yunho stared at him.

Junsu stared back, calmly sipping from his cup.

“I’m sorry about Jaejoong?”

Junsu shook his head again. “No.”

“No?”

“No,” Junsu confirmed. “What about Jaejoong?”

Yunho was watching his face carefully. “I’m sorry for breaking the engagement?”

Another shake. “No.” Junsu blamed the rest of his family for that. And maybe Yunho’s family. And some politicians. Sometimes he blamed Jaejoong but he never blamed Yunho for that. It’s not like he and Jaejoong had actually been engaged at any point. The situation was a bit of a mess but Yunho wasn’t the guilty one.

“I’m sorry for not telling you I knew your cousin?”

Junsu nodded. “Closer.” It still wasn’t quite hitting at the heart of the matter.

Yunho reached across the table and took Junsu’s free hand in his. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Junsu put his cup down then turned his hand over underneath Yunho’s. He twined their fingers together in a quick squeeze. “Apology accepted hyung.”

Yunho beamed at him.

“But hyung, what exactly is going on? My family isn’t the most unbiased information source.”

Depending on who Junsu spoke to everything was just a misunderstanding (his parents), it all all worked out for the best (Jaejoong’s parents), or Yunho was the destroyer of worlds (Yoochun).

What he had put together from the three different versions was that Jaejoong had gotten pseudo engaged to Yunho through some plot of the Queen Dowager and the President but they weren’t pseudo engaged anymore. The how and why of the situation hadn’t been explained and Jaejoong wasn’t talking.

The smile dropped from Yunho’s face.

-

Yoochun tossed his phone to the end of his bed. That asshole still wasn’t answering.

Well fuck you too Kim Junsu, he thought.

He rolled over onto his stomach and groaned into the blankets. Was he supposed to look after Jaejoong on his own? Not that he couldn’t or wouldn’t. Yoochun had been taking care of Jaejoong for their entire lives bar that torturous period of time during high school when Yoochun’s parents had separated them ‘for their own good’.

For their own good his ass. Look what had happened because he hadn’t been there to talk Jaejoong out of experimenting on himself or at least been there to go through it with him.

Although the first option would have been preferable. With their luck the second would probably have ended with both of them in trouble instead of just Jaejoong, not that Jaejoong thought of it that way. And when he was being honest with himself, Yoochun didn’t think of it as trouble either.

He could see the appeal of finding your perfect match, maybe someday he would be lucky enough, it was just everything else that was trouble.

Especially the Crown Prince’s hard head.

He kicked his feet against the bed, stopping when he felt the mattress dip next to him.

“Yoochun,” came Jaejoong’s soft voice.

Yoochun grimaced and didn’t respond. He was slightly thankful that Jaejoong couldn’t see his face.

Sometimes Jaejoong laughed at Yoochun’s dramatic facial expressions, but sometimes Jaejoong smacked him and told him his face would get stuck that way, the way their parents had always told them when they were younger.

“Yoochun,” Jaejoong said again, this time the voice was accompanied by a touch to the back of Yoochun’s head.

Yoochun shook his head in an attempt to dislodge the hand. It didn’t work.

Jaejoong just gripped his hair then carded his fingers through it. “Yoochun-ah.”

Yoochun squeezed his fingers, scrunching up the soft blanket where it rested under his hands. “What,” he mumbled, face still planted firmly against his mattress.

“Are you still mad at me?”

Yoochun sighed. “I’m not mad at you.”

He wasn’t. He had never been mad at Jaejoong. Even a few weeks ago when Jaejoong had told him he’d stopped taking his heat suppressants while Yoochun had been in America, Yoochun hadn’t been mad at Jaejoong. He had been afraid for him. The fear had made him angry but it wasn’t anger for Jaejoong. He was feeling the same fear now.

Yoochun grunted when he felt Jaejoong’s weight drop onto his back but didn’t try to push him off.

“Don’t be mad,” Jaejoong said, still stroking Yoochun’s hair.

Yoochun turned his head away from the bed so he could speak clearly. “I said I’m not mad.”

Jaejoong forced one arm between Yoochun and the mattress to wrap around his waist. Yoochun pushed at the arm. He frowned when it didn’t move.

“Don’t be mad. I need to do this.”

Yoochun snorted. “No, you really don’t.”

“Yoochun.”

“Jaejoong.”

“Chunnie, please.” Jaejoong curled his body around him. “Don’t be mad.”

Damn it, Yoochun was not mad. And he wasn’t in the mood for cuddles but years of experience had told him that any attempt to get Jaejoong off before he was good and ready would result in failure. Jaejoong was heavier than he looked and he had always been stronger than Yoochun.

Physically anyway.

“I said I’m not,” Yoochun snapped back.

Jaejoong squeezed his waist. “Good. I hate when you’re mad at me.”

Yoochun rolled his eyes. He had spent twenty years of their lives trying to explain to Jaejoong that he was never angry with him. He might become infuriated with the things Jaejoong did but never with Jaejoong himself.

“I need to do this,” Jaejoong said again.

That was highly debatable.

“You know why I need to do this.”

“No, I don’t.” Perfect match or not, Jung Yunho did not deserve Jaejoong.

“Yoochun.”

“Jaejoong.” Yoochun could do this all day. He was not going to admit to any understanding of Jaejoong’s craziness.

Jaejoong rubbed his cheek against Yoochun’s back. “You do know.”

Yoochun shook his head no.

“He’s it for me.”

Yoochun kept shaking his head.

“There’s no one else.”

There were plenty of other people. Jaejoong could find a nice beta girl to marry. So what if it wouldn’t be perfect, at least Jaejoong wouldn’t be trying to get off his pills and make himself vulnerable again.

“If it was you, I’d understand,” Jaejoong said.

Yoochun stopped shaking his head and pressed his lips together tightly. He would not give in.

“If it was you, I’d help.”

Not giving in.

“I can’t go to anyone else. How am I supposed to be happy?” Jaejoong rested his cheek on Yoochun’s shoulder and breathed softly into his ear. “Who else will take me?”

‘No one is supposed to take you. We don’t exactly live in the most liberal of countries. Whoever did take you would just use you.’ That’s what Yoochun wanted to say.

What came out was, “I know.”

Sometimes Yoochun agreed with Junsu. Jaejoong was an evil, conniving, manipulative little shit. But Yoochun would die before he let anyone hurt Jaejoong. He was Yoochun’s evil, conniving, manipulative little shit.

And Yunho’s if Jaejoong got his way, which he would, Yoochun swore because he was going to help Jaejoong get it. God help him.

Yoochun slipped his own arm under his body to wrap around Jaejoong’s. “How exactly are you planning to do this?”

“I don’t know. Jaejoong said. “The last time was an accident.”

The last time being when Yunho had cornered Jaejoong in his own home.

“I need help.”

Yoochun sighed. He had an idea, but it involved exposing Jaejoong to the other side of his life, something he had hoped he would never need to do. From an outside point of view it would probably seem like an extreme solution to trying to get someone bonded and married, but figuring out how to get the Crown Prince to bond with a male omega was an extreme kind of problem.

He shut his eyes. “I think I need to take you to see someone.”

Although he really didn’t want to. Really, really didn’t want to.

“Are you finally going to let me meet Heechul?”

Yoochun’s eyes snapped open. He would have sat up if he wasn’t pinned to the bed by Jaejoong’s weight.

“You know about Heechul?”

Jaejoong hummed in acknowledgment.

“How?” If Jaejoong knew then Yoochun wasn’t hiding nearly as well as he thought he was.

Jaejoong petted his head. “Stop freaking out. You’re my best friend. I know you.”

Or maybe Jaejoong was more intelligent than Yoochun had been giving him credit for which could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.

That depended on Heechul.


End file.
